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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29062038">three, two, one, go!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/raysoflight11/pseuds/raysoflight11'>raysoflight11</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ENHYPEN (Band), I-LAND (Korea TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>I think im a genius for this, Jungwon is riku, M/M, Pining, Prince of Stride AU, ill add a better summary later, like a lot, lots of running, ni-ki is takeru, sunoo is nana, what do I even tag</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:20:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,740</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29062038</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/raysoflight11/pseuds/raysoflight11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>enhypen/i-land prince of stride au</p><p>"Three, two, one, go!"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Two hands slapped together.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A relay so perfect it’s as if they had no doubt it would happen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How can two people trust each other so much?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hearts connected,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Running like the wind,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s no other team like them,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honan Academy Stride!”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>prince of stride au because I love them and I love prince of stride<br/>ive been writing a few fics anonymously lol idk why<br/>I think im a genius for this<br/>anyways anyways anyways I wish the prince of stride anime was longer because I would've loved to see more of the relationship between tomoe heath and kuga<br/>lmao I made enhypen all members of Honan ill probably change that later when ive settled on who I want to be who<br/>I made this because I was bored mainly<br/>this chapter was just me quoting what nana says in the first episode</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kim Sunoo had it all planned from the very start, the very moment he had finished watching that video for the first time. He was going to go to Seoul. He was going to go to Honan. And then, he was going to join the stride club, become its relationer, and then, they were going to destroy everyone.</p><p>“Well, here I go.” Sunoo took a deep breath, staring up at the doors in front of him. “Honan Stride, here I come!” Everything was going according to plan. Sunoo had moved to Tokyo, taken the exams, and now, here he was: standing in front of Honan Academy. His plan was coming into fruition. Now all he had to do was find the stride club and -</p><p>“I’m so sorry!”</p><p>Sunoo groaned, holding his head and opening his eyes. He was greeted by the sight of a worried looking boy with big eyes staring down at him. “Wha-?”</p><p>“I’m so sorry!” The boy repeated, bowing. </p><p>“It’s fine.” Sunoo was still a bit clueless on what happened. He picked himself off the ground, and nudged the boy in front of him. “Look, it’s okay. Really.”</p><p>“Are you sure?” The boy looked up at him.</p><p>“Yeah. It’s fine.” Sunoo smiled. “I’m Kim Sunoo! What’s your name?”</p><p>“I’m Yang Jungwon.” The boy shyly looked away, staring down at his feet. </p><p>“Are you a freshman?” Sunoo asked, trying to clear the air between them. Jungwon nodded. “What class are you in?”</p><p>“Let’s see…” Jungwon fished his schedule out of his pocket. “Class 9-B.”</p><p>“Really? Same!” Sunoo grinned, shooting Jungwon his famous eye smile. “Let’s go together!”</p><p>“Okay!” Jungwon looked a lot more cheerful now, grabbing Sunoo’s hand and rushing to get inside before class started. “Let’s go!”</p><p>Sunoo laughed, running inside along with Jungwon. Everything was going all according to plan.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>okay so im going to try and keep this as close to what happens in the anime but with some changes<br/>im gonna try and make sure I have all the events in the anime though</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hahaha how do you write again</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sunoo stared at the clock on the wall, lightly tapping his foot. C’mon, c’mon, any minute now. The bell rang. Sunoo almost cried in relief, packing up all his stuff and immediately rushing out the class. Stride club, here he comes! He ran up the stairs, glancing at the map of the school in his hands. Class 10-D should be right around the corner. Sunoo glanced up and noticed a blond haired boy already at the door. “Oh wait, I know you! We’re in the same class aren’t we? Niki?”</p><p>“Huh?” The blond boy turned to the side, spotting Sunoo. “Oh. Hi.”</p><p>“Hey.” Sunoo smiled, turning to the door. “Stride and chess club…? Well, should we head in?”</p><p>“I guess so?” Niki hesitated for a minute, hand hovering over the door knob. He gently opened the doors, peeking inside.</p><p>“Where is everyone?” Sunoo leaned over the side, trying to spot the club members.</p><p>“Checkmate!”</p><p>“You have got to be kidding me!”</p><p>“I win! You owe me lunch tomorrow!”</p><p>“Fuck you.”</p><p>“Language!”</p><p>Sunoo and Niki awkwardly stared at each other, millions of questions wanting to be asked. </p><p>“Are you here to join our club?” A voice suddenly spoke.</p><p>“Wha?” Sunoo jumped, whirling behind him. He was greeted by someone shorter than him, wearing - was that a clown mask?</p><p>“Yup,” Niki said, seemingly unaffected by the sudden scare.</p><p>“Oh really? That’s nice!” The guy took off his mask, smiling at Sunoo and Niki. “I’m Kim Yoonwon, a 1st year! Welcome to our club!”</p><p>“Kim Sunoo. 1st year.” Sunoo bowed.</p><p>“Niki. Also a 1st year.”</p><p>“Well it’s nice to meet you!” Yoonwon grinned, stepping into the clubroom with Sunoo and Niki warily following him. “Hey, you two, would you mind not strangling each other for one minute? We got new club members!”</p><p>“Which club?” A brown haired guy, probably a senior, who was holding a light haired boy in a choke hold asked.</p><p>“You look like you’re joining the chess club!” The light haired boy threw the brunette off him, approaching Niki. “Wanna play a match?”</p><p>“Sorry. I’m joining stride.” Niki cooly rejected the offer, face remaining straight even when the guy dropped to his feet. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I came to join stride.” Niki scratched the back of his head, looking shy.</p><p>“Wait a second…” the boy took a closer look at Niki. “I know you…?”</p><p>“Hm? What is it Jimin?” Yoonwon tilted his head.</p><p>“You’re Nishimura! From Japan!” The light haired guy, Jimin, shouted, pointing at Niki.</p><p>“Thats me.” Niki nodded.</p><p>“You’re pretty famous in the Under-16 category.” Jimin flipped open a magazine on the couch (Couch? In a classroom?). “See? Here.” Sunoo peered over Niki’s shoulder, seeing an image of the boy, probably taken from a year ago since he looked a little younger. Beside his photo, stats and achievements were listed.</p><p>“That is one impressive record for a 1st year student,” Yoonwon whistled. “Talk about lucky. Stride’s off to great start already this year.”</p><p>“Then are you here to join chess?” Light hair turned his head to face Sunoo.</p><p>“Sorry, stride.” Suno sheepishly smiled at the boy. Light hair proceeded to collapse onto the ground again.</p><p>“Stride too?” Yoonwon asked.</p><p>“Yup! I’d love to be your manager or relationer or whatever!” Sunoo smiled. “Only if you’ll have me,” he added.</p><p>“Well welcome.” Light hair (Jimin judging from what Yoonwon said) sat up, running his hands through his hair. “I’m Chu Jimin a third year. I’m sort of the leader of the chess club.”</p><p>“Sorry,” Sunoo said to the brown haired boy, ignoring Jimin. “We’re here to join stride, not chess.”</p><p>“I’m the captain of the stride team, Lee Heeseung,” the boy said. “And it really doesn’t matter which club you join, since you’ll be joining both anyways.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Niki asked.</p><p>“Any member of the stride club is an automatic member of the chess club and vice versa,” Jimin explained, “so welcome to the club!”</p><p>“Why though?” </p><p>Jimin and Yoonwon sighed in sync. Jimin started explaining. “Here at Honan, clubs with less than 3 members are shut down. So we kinda made a deal that whoever joins either club is automatically in the other,”</p><p>“That way, none of our clubs get shut down!” Yoonwon finished for Jimin.</p><p>“Seems like a very...beneficial arrangement,” Niki observed. “The problem is I can’t play chess for shit.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, I can teach you!” Jimin enthusiastically exclaimed. “It’s not that hard!”</p><p>“Ah, I get it now.” Sunoo nodded.</p><p>“Yup. We make up both the stride team and the chess club.” Heeseung gestured towards Jimin and Yoonwon.</p><p>“Are you serious?” Sunoo frowned. He seemed more agitated now, pacing around.</p><p>“Is something wrong?” Jimin tilted his head.</p><p>“No, no, I don’t mean to be rude, but I saw a video of your stride team. It’s what made me want to come to Honan!”</p><p>“Would you mind showing us the video?” Heeseung asked.</p><p>“Sure!” Sunoo grabbed his phone out of his pocket, opening it, and oh-</p><p>“Taken down as per request by the Korean Stride Association,” Yoonwon read.</p><p>“Argh, damn you stride association! I hate you!” Sunoo cried flinging his phone across the room.</p><p>“It’s not broken,” Niki observed, walking across the room to grab Sunoo’s phone. “Nice.” </p><p>“Well would you mind describing what you saw in the video that was so magical it made you want to come to Honan?” Jimin suggested.</p><p>Sunoo paused to think. “I really can’t describe it. It was just...magical. Amazing. The first time I had ever seen relations done at full speed.” Heeseung let out a little gasp of recognition, but Sunoo payed him no mind, too caught up in describing the video. “It was like they just knew it was going to happen. I can’t tell you how much I love Honan stride!” </p><p>Jimin and Heeseung shared a look, before turning back to Sunoo. They already knew who Sunoo was talking about. No one else had ever ran stride like those two did.</p><p>“Sorry to say, but the people you saw in that video are both 3rd year students now. Unfortunately, neither are part of our stride club anymore,” Jimin told Sunoo.</p><p>“W-wha?” Sunoo’s expression was a mix of shock, disappointment, and sadness.</p><p>“I know it’s not what you wanted to her but I’m sorry, we just don’t have enough members to participate in a match,” Heeseung sighed with a sad face. “I’m sorry.” </p><p>Sunoo looked away, brain going a million miles a minute. What now? His plans were slowly crumbling down. He was at Honan, but Honan had no stride team.</p><p>“Tell you what,” Jimin started, sensing the change in mood, “since you guys came all the way here for stride, we could train with you if you want.”</p><p>“What’s the point of practicing if we’re not gonna compete,” Yoonwon grumbled. For a first year, he had surprisingly strong connections with the team, Sunoo observed.</p><p>“You said you wanna be a relationer right?” Heeseung asked Sunoo, changing the topic.</p><p>“That’s right!” Sunoo nodded.</p><p>“Well to compete, each team has to have 6 members, a relationer and 5 runners. Find us 2 more people, and we can start competing in tournaments!” Heeseung looked determined now, fire sparking in his eyes.</p><p>“I promise you, I’ll find you 2 more members!” Sunoo exclaimed.</p><p>“One,” Niki corrected. “I’m joining the stride club two, so that comes up to a total of 5 people. We only need 1 more.”</p><p>“Lets do it!” </p><p>Well his plans may not have been going as smoothly as expected, Kim Sunoo was nothing if not determined. He would find someone else to join the stride team. He would. He had to. And when he did, they were going to compete. Honan stride would return. The other teams will never know what hit them.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>okay so after a lot of thinking I finally came up with who's gonna be who and I’ve decided<br/>lmao ive been obsessed with sk8 recently langa can take all my love</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ahaha so um I kinda based Jungwon off riku so</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Yang Jungwon was an athletic boy. Anyone could tell that at a glance. He was also naturally gifted at sports. That was the conclusion many had come to just from watching the boy. Jungwon had been trying out for sports teams the entire day. First basketball. Jungwon had effortlessly gotten past all the blockers in one large, fast stride (he had nearly crashed into the wall, but it’s not like the basketball team noticed, too busy staring in awe).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, wanna join our club?” One guy asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As long as I can join other clubs.” Jungwon smiled. “I wanna join as many sports as possible!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where do you think we’ll find someone?” Niki asked Sunoo as he ate lunch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not too sure…” Sunoo trailed off, looking out the window of the classroom.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My bad!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The spiker had lost control, volleyball flying way over the net and heading towards the wall. Jungwon watched it go over the net, and then, he sprung into motion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s no way he’ll be able to catch up to that,” one guy wearing a red headband sitting at the sidelines whispered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jungwon dove for the ball, hand outstretched. His landing was hard, and he groaned when he hit the floor. Maybe impulsively diving for volleyballs wasn’t the best choice. The volleyball landed on his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He caught up to it,” the guy beside the boy with the red headband said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nah man, he passed it,” headband corrected. The rest of the gym just stared at Jungwon in surprise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jungwon sat up, groaning, and walked back to the bleachers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wanna join our club?” The original spiker asked, holding out a hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure! I wanna join all the clubs!” Jungwon shot the guy a smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t see that one coming, did ya?” Headband’s friend commented.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What a waste,” headband groaned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s check the gym,” Niki suggested. “We’re sure to find some athletes there, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right!” Sunoo sat up. “Niki, you’re a genius!” He patted the blond on the head, before grabbing the boy’s hand, and dragging him out of the class.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Join us! We need you on the ping pong team!” The team yelled. ”You can join all the clubs you want!” They all but cried</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh really? Thanks!” Jungwon smiled. Maybe he finally had a team. “Count me in!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The doors of the club were suddenly kicked open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Jungwon and the rest of the ping pong club looked at the door in surprise. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang Jungwon,” Niki said. And left it at that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Jungwon!” Sunoo waved.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sunoo, hi!” Jungwon waved back, a smile gracing his features. “You’re here! And with...this guy.” Jungwon’s face dropped a little (a lot).</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry again for this morning.” Jungwon bowed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Sunoo waved his arms. “Really, it’s fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon, don’t be like that, I gotta pay you back somehow,” Jungwon protested. Niki just sat on the steps, eating a popsicle. Dammit. Jungwon so wanted to be him at the moment. Peace of mind. And a popsicle. Jungwon really wanted a popsicle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you could pay me back by joining my club!” Sunoo grinned. “You seem like a good runner anyways.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really! Okay!” Jungwon agreed. “I’ll join!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright! Thanks!” Sunoo clapped his hands together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You seem like a good runner,” Niki observed, startling Jungwon. “Lets go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jungwon’s face fell again. “Niki, was it? Are you part of Sunoo’s club too?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously.” Niki kicked open the doors (really, he had to stop doing that, one day he would probably kick a door right off is hinges). “Let’s go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would you mind telling me which club I’m joining?” Jungwon asked, staring at the signs on the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The stride club,” Sunoo and Niki said in sync. Jungwon’s face dropped further, if that was even possible. Oh dear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let go of me! Hey!” Jimin tried to kick Heeseung off him. “I can’t breath!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your fault for stealing my food!” Heeseung snapped back. Yoonwon just shook his head at the scene, going back to the game of chess he was playing against himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me go!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m warning you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoonwon looked up, irritated. “Hey, Jimin, would-” Jimin and Heeseung had already settled down, which would mean…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We found one!” Sunoo cheerfully threw open the doors, with Niki in toe, dragging along a very unwilling Jungwon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did taekwondo, you know! Let me go!” Jungwon thrashed around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We found one,” Niki repeated Sunoo’s words, not paying attention to the boy who was currently trying to kick him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He doesn’t look too happy, does he?” Jimin said out loud. “Did he even agree to join the club?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! Hey! Let me go!” Jungwon struggled some more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yup.” Niki nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This was fully consensual,” Sunoo added.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, are you sure?” Yoonwon and Jimin just stared at the scene. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Heeseung frowned, taking a closer look at Jungwon. “Yang Jungwon?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yang? Jungwon?” Jimin shot his head up in surprise. “As in that Yang Jungwon? You’re kidding!” Jungwon just looked miserable in Niki’s arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh.” Yoonwon dropped the chess piece he was holding (if anyone wants to know, it was a bishop). “What are the odds?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Crazy.” Heeseung fell back onto the couch. “Fate really does have an interesting way of sending a message.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?” Jimin turned to Heeseung. “You think this is a sign?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know if it’a a sign or not, and I frankly don’t care.” Heeseung stood up. “I’m just glad he’s here.” He pointed towards Jungwon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…?” Sunoo started, leaving the rest unsaid.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a man of my word. Honan stride’s back in action guys.” Heeseung grinned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now that we have 6 members, we can participate in matches!” Jimin exclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright!” Sunoo shouted. His plan was starting to come together again. He had found another member of the team, so they could compete in matches now. He had Niki, a known stride athlete. And he had Jungwon, who was great at sports. He had Yoonwon and Heeseung and Jimin too, who he was sure were all competent runners. And he would be the relationer. Everything was going according to plan.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>
  <a href="https://www.wcostream.com/playlist-cat/prince-of-stride-english-dubbed">you can watch prince of stride here</a>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>its a lot easier to write stuff when you're basing it off of an already existing story lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Of course, things were going too well. And that never happened in Sunoo’s life. Of course, something had to come up.</p><p>“Um hey? I’m not really into stride so...,” Jungwon said, giving up the struggling.</p><p>“I don’t wanna force you, but you agreed to help.” Sunoo flatly stared at the Jungwon.</p><p>“And I will.” Jungwon glanced back at Sunoo. “Besides, you’re not the one holding me and dragging me here against my will-”</p><p>“Be quiet,” Niki snapped.</p><p>“You’re getting on my last nerve!” Jungwon reached over to punch Niki when he realized - he couldn’t punch Niki in the face currently because he was still being held against his will. “Let me go!”</p><p>“We came to Honan academy to join the stride club,” Niki deadpanned.</p><p>“Okay but what does that have to do with me?” Jungwon growled, going back to struggling. Geez, just how strong was Niki’s grip anyways? Heeseung and Jimin shared a glance.</p><p>“Alright, alright, stop yelling.” Jimin clapped his hands, approaching the group. “How about we settle this with a friendly match?”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Jungwon asked, looking up at the 3rd year.</p><p>“Isn’t it obvious? Let’s settle this with a race!” Jimin grinned pointing a finger at Niki and Jungwon. “Tonight, at 6. Be there or be square.”</p><p>“No one’s used that phrase since 2018,” Yoonwon groaned.</p><p>“Okay,” Niki agreed, letting Jungwon go.</p><p>“It’s a deal.” Jungwon nodded.</p><p>“Alright! If Jungwon wins, he can decide what he wants to do. If he doesn’t, he joins the stride team.” Jimin clapped his hands together. “Let’s go!”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey everyone, it’s Lee Heeseung from the stride club. Race tonight at 6 pm at the school!” Heeseung’s voice came from the speaker. “You heard right. Stride club’s back baby!”</p><p>Those in the classrooms began to talk amongst themselves, excited. Though no one wanted to join stride at the beginning of the year, Honan was still famous for stride. They would show up.</p><p>“Oh?” A teacher looked up from his book. “Interesting.”</p><p>Out in the hallway, students crowded around a poster. ‘2 on 2 match: Stride club wins, they get the new students!’. A blond haired boy paused beside the poster, staring at it. He shook his head and walked off a few seconds later.</p><p>The entire school was buzzing with excitement. The newspaper club was busy printing articles, and students were helping set things up. It was truly a spectacle.</p><p> </p><p>“The race is starting in 10 minutes. During the race, please refrain from coming onto the course. If you must, look for a cheerleader with an armband to guide you.”</p><p>People had come in troves, cheering, recording with their phones. Sunoo gaped in awe.</p><p>“So many people!” He exclaimed, looking around. “Wow!”</p><p>“Crazy to think our club’s on the verge of disbanding, isn’t it?” Yoonwon shot Sunoo a grin. “But stride is stride. Whenever we hold races, tons of people always come to watch.”</p><p>“Cool.” Sunoo leaned over the railing, staring down.</p><p>“Yup. Stride is usually ran out on the streets, but tonight we’re only doing a lap around the school. Doesn’t mean it’ll be easy though. There’ll be plenty of drops and sharp turns which will require some finesse from our runners. Plus, we’re using a narrow hallway as a takeover zone. You’ll have to pay close attention to the relationing.” Yoonwon sat down, and put on his headset. “Ready?”</p><p>“Yup.” Sunoo nodded, putting on his headset and shifting his attention to the computer. “Ready.”</p><p>“The race will begin in 1 minute!” </p><p>“I’m starting to get pumped!” Jimin crouched down, breathing in, then out. He stared at the boy beside him. “Don’t you need your glasses for the race?”</p><p>“I prefer contacts when running.” Niki stared at the ground, concentrating. “Glasses would just get in the way.”</p><p>“Fair.” Jimin turned to the course in front of them. “Let’s do our best out there.” He tightened his laces. Could Niki really pull this off?</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve forgotten about all the pre-race nerves,” Heeseung groaned, stretching his leg. “It’s been a while since I last raced. Kinda missed them.”</p><p>Jungwon just shot him a questioning glance, before turning back forward. “Been a while since I ran stride too.” He fiddled with his watch, pressing the start button. ‘On’. Good. Jungwon placed both hands on the ground, taking a deep breath. Concentrate.</p><p> </p><p>Sunoo stared at the Ipad in his hands, analyzing the screen. “Alright, Niki, Jungwon, I hope you guys are ready,” he spoke into the headset.</p><p>“Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the Honan Academy Stride revival race!”</p><p>Loud cheers were heard all across the room.</p><p>“You said stride was back.” Jungwon frowned at Heeseung. “You think you’re gonna win?”</p><p>“Look pal, get a good win in your heart. We are not going to lose this race.” Heeseung offered him a sly grin. “We’re gonna leave you in the dust.”</p><p>“As if,” Jungwon scoffed.</p><p> </p><p>“Ready?” Jimin glanced at Niki.</p><p>“Let’s go.” Niki stared straight ahead. He was concentrating, completely focused on the race.</p><p>“On your marks,”</p><p>“Get set…”</p><p>“Three,”</p><p>Jungwon and Heeseung were in position.</p><p>“Two,”</p><p>Niki closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. There was no way he would lose. Jimin grinned, staring at the blond boy. It was so on.</p><p>“One,”</p><p>Inhale. Exhale.</p><p>“Go!”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wanted to make this chapter longer but I felt like this was a good place to end it<br/>next chapter will focus on the race lol<br/>stride is a mix of parkour and relay<br/>yoonwon and jimin are good friends, Yoonwon is like jimin's chess apprentice or something thats why he knew the stride club even though he's a first year in this</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Niki and Jimin took off running. Niki was in the lead, at least 10 feet ahead of Jimin. His strides were bigger, and he was definitely faster. The school’s roof was pretty high up, and the wind was strong today. They turned the corner, entering the school. Niki rushed down the stairs, jumping over the last few steps. Jimin jumped and kicked off the wall, skipping the stairs and landing on the floor a few feet behind Niki. They ran through the hallway, before jumping out an open window. Niki was still in the lead. Niki hopped down onto the ground and continue running. Jimin ran through the other window, sprinting through the hallway and taking a turn, running into a classroom. He jumped out of another window, landing on the other end, where he ran forward, before leaping off the roof (or whatever it was), and rolling onto the mat on the ground (talk about acrobatics!) a few feet in front of Niki. Jimin was in the lead now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look at him go!” Sunoo stared at the screen in awe, watching as Jimin overtook Niki. “Incredible! He’s so fast!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well he does have to keep up with the famous under 16 runner.” Yoonwon grinned, turning back to his screen. “The so-called ‘trickster’ of Honan has gotta be at his best.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jimin jumped over hurdle after hurdle, with Niki following right behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sunoo, get ready.” Yoonwon’s face was more serious now. He was concentrating on the screen in front of him. “They’re approaching the takeover zone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.” Sunoo nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heeseung! 3, 2, 1, go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jungwon, go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jungwon took off in large strides, easily passing Heeseung. He made it to the hallway where Jimin and Niki were coming up. Jungwon was right behind Niki, and was about to reach forward, when Niki took off, getting even faster. He ran in front of Jimin, taking the lead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Niki careful! You’ll overrun the takeover zone!” Yoonwon shouted. Sunoo stared anxiously at the screen. ‘Please, please, let them be okay,’ he begged the god inside his head. ‘Please. Let them be okay. They can!’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jungwon narrowed his eyes, running after Niki. It was almost like when he was running with </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Jungwon stared at the figure in front of him, unsure whether it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> or Niki. He didn’t care. He ran, reaching his hand out. He would catch up to him. ‘I can!’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Niki ran and ran. He wasn’t sure why he was still running. It almost like that day. A tanned arm reached out and Niki high fived it. ‘We can!’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Niki stared as Jungwon ran in front of him. They did it. Time seemed to slow. He watched as they high fived, as he slowed down and Jungwon took the lead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They did it!” Sunoo cried, staring at his screen. “Yeah!” He jumped up, shaking Yoonwon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Niki collapsed onto the ground, watching as both Jungwon and Heeseung ran.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah.” Sunoo gasped. He had just helped Jungwon and Niki through the takeover zone. He had just helped these two runners like the ones in the video. He had just done the job of a relationer. Sunoo squealed happily. He had just - just - he had just done what those people in the videos did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jungwon kept running. He leaped off the railing, landing in the mud. And then he went back to running. He kept running. He couldn’t stop. A small chuckle left his mouth. This was </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Stride was </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jungwon and Heeseung passed the finish line.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Awesome!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Loud cheers rang out from the students leaning out the windows.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Amazing!” Sunoo exclaimed to himself watching as Heeseung and Jungwon collapsed onto the ground. “Stride is so cool!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey look!” Yoonwon hollered. Sunoo turned back, shooting the boy a curious glance. “Check their times! It’s the same!” Yoonwon pointed at the Ipad in his hands. It was right there on the screen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>‘1. Chu Jimin &amp; Lee Heeseung: 1:37:76</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span> 1. Niki Nishimura Riki &amp; Yang Jungwon: 1:37:76’</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a tie!” Yoonwon shouted the results so everyone, even Heeseung and Jungwon, could hear them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hear that?” Heeseung grinned down at Jungwon. “Good job.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t get it,” Jungwon wheezed. “How come you’re not out of breath at all?” he panted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Heeseung just smiled. “You’ll get there, rookie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jungwon opened his eyes to see Niki standing in front of him. The Japanese boy stared down at him for a moment before smiling, and reaching a hand out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Jungwon stared up, before grinning, reaching up to high five Niki. “Yeah!” The two interlocked their hands, and Niki dragged Jungwon up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah!” Yoonwon and Sunoo had ran down from the school, joining Niki, Jungwon, Heeseung, and Jimin. Cheers from the students were heard all around them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Heeseung smiled at the scene in front of him. They finally had a team. A good team. They had a relationer. And, most important of all, they had spirit. Honan stride really was back. And maybe, they could go even further this time around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jimin grinned. He hadn’t race in what felt like forever. Niki had kept him on his toes tonight. It had been a while since he had felt this good. Truly, there was nothing like stride. Stride truly was amazing. Damn was he glad he and Heeseung had made that agreement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoonwon stared. They had a team. And maybe he wasn’t exactly the most willing to join the stride club at first, due to him only wanting to play chess, but he was truly grateful. Stride was awesome. He was glad to be considered part of this club. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Niki stared down at his hand. Stride. It came to him naturally. Nishimura Riki was a great at stride. That was a given. But it was only recently he had found stride </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Stride was fun. Running with Jungwon was </span>
  <em>
    <span>fun</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And maybe, he wouldn’t be alone this time. He loved stride. He loved this feeling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jungwon closed his eyes. Stride...he had a rather complicated relationship with it. Was stride fun? Did he find it fun? He didn’t know. He was always fighting to keep up with </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, too focused on improving instead of having fun. Jungwon opened his eyes, glancing at the people in front of him. Yeah. He liked this feeling. Maybe stride was fun after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sunoo felt as if he was on cloud 9. Everything felt unreal. They had a stride team now. He was a relationer. Everything was going well now. He smiled. Stride truly was amazing. The way the runners trusted each other, the way they worked together, was amazing. The trust. Friendship. Stride was incredible. It was one thing to watch it, watch as the runners made incredible leaps and ran at amazing speeds, watch as they made the exchange. That was one thing. Being </span>
  <em>
    <span>involved</span>
  </em>
  <span> in it was completely different. Sunoo felt the trust they put in him. He was responsible for the exchange. It was something simply incredible. He loved this feeling. Sunoo loved Honan Academy Stride. And now, they were going to go even further. He couldn’t wait.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That makes 2 things off the checklist and a million more to do.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>and that concludes ep1<br/>haha thanks for reading<br/>now I need to go rewatch ep2 should be fun<br/>I procrastinate on my other stories by writing new ones<br/>I wanna start making the chapters longer<br/>fun fact: I have no idea how ao3 works</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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